first antler relief carving finished (well, nearly)

OK, well, for anyone that might be interested, this is how my second carving in stag-horn (antler) is coming along – the bulk of the carving, to all intents and purposes is finished, except for some sharpening up here and there, which I am leaving until it is mounted in a cross-bow – at current rate of progress that will be this time next year…. Oh, it will need some kind of antique-effect wax to help pick-out the details and slow down moisture movement too So, for your delectation I present archangel Michael as based on the carving on the underside of the Ulrich crossbow attributed to Heinrich Heid von Winterthur (probably Swiss, active Stuttgart, recorded 1453–1460) held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art). The carving measures 2cm by 21cm and is a maximum of 1mm deep, but perhaps most interestingly (to some), I strongly believe the ‘crosslet’ in the diamond at the base has been mis-identified, and is in fact satan carved as a dragon – if you look at the hd image on its strongest magnification ( http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/21940) you can just about make out a mouth and a head – you will need to select additional images. Although badly worn, an image of satan in the underworld with the earth represented by oak leaves and archangel michael guarding the way to Heaven makes sense (at least to me). I am very grateful too, for the work by Dirk Breiding (Met Museum publication The Crossbow of Count Ulrich V of Wurttemberg, Met Museum Jounal, vol 44, 2009) in which he points out the scales containing the penitent and the tower, and the demon pulling at the scales, all of which would have been extremely difficult to identify without his work. Only one carving tool was used for this, a small skew chisel using the point as a scraper.